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Journal Article
Government budgets and property values
Lori L. Taylor debunks several popular beliefs as she examines how property values relate to taxes, government services, and government debt. She finds that, contrary to popular belief, property values do not necessarily decrease when local governments increase taxes to pay for services. Her analysis reveals that taxpayers value all types of government services, including transfer payments such as welfare and health services. Taylor's work also suggests that people do not automatically prefer deficit spending to tax increases.
Journal Article
State and local red ink: crisis or opportunity?
An examination of the costs and benefits of cutbacks in federal aid to state and local governments during the 1980s, concluding that less reliance on federal funds may result in long-term benefits.
Journal Article
The devolution tortoise and the centralization hare
There has been much talk in recent years of devolving powers and functions from the federal government to the states. Some observers even proclaim a devolution revolution, the result of which will be a more efficient and effective federal government and more robust and responsive states. The generally recognized objectives of devolution include (1) more efficient provision and production of public services; (2) better alignment of the costs and benefits of government for a diverse citizenry; (3) better fits between public goods and their spatial characteristics; (4) increased competition, ...
Journal Article
On the size and growth of government
The size of the U.S. federal government, as well as state and local governments, increased dramatically during the 20th century. This paper reviews several theories of government size and growth that are dominant in the public choice and political science literature. The theories are divided into two categories: citizen-over-state theories and state-over-citizen theories. The relationship between the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the timing of government growth is also presented. It is likely that portions of each theory can explain government size and growth, but the challenge ...
Journal Article
To save a city
How far should government power extend into private markets in the wake of a disaster?
Working Paper
Output fluctuations and fiscal policy : U.S. state and local governments 1978-1994
What are the cyclical properties of U.S. state and local government fiscal policy? The budget surplus of local and, in particular, state governments is procyclical, smoothing disposable income and consumption of state residents. This happens over both short- and medium-term horizons. Procyclical surpluses are the result of strongly procyclical revenues, and weakly procyclical expenditures. The budgets of trust funds and utilities are procyclical. Federal grants are procyclical, exacerbating the cyclical amplitude of state level income movements; although they smooth the idiosyncratic ...
Journal Article
Commentary
This paper was presented at the conference "Policies to Promote Affordable Housing," cosponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and New York University's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, February 7, 2002. It was part of Session 2: Affordable Housing and the Housing Market, and is a commentary on "Government regulation and changes in the affordable housing stock" by C. Tsuriel Somerville and Christopher J. Mayer.
Working Paper
Prointegrative subsidies and their effect on housing markets: do race- based loans work?
An analysis of the effects of race-based housing subsidies on racial composition and housing prices, examining their impacts in Shaker Heights, Ohio.